bsg vfx: anatomy of a cylon – extras

Wow, response to “Anatomy of a Cylon” has been overwhelming!  I’m holding  back tears of joy as I read all of your enthusiastic comments, emails and forum posts.  Pierre is so thrilled by the feedback I think he’s getting ready to hand out cigars as all of you fawn over his new baby.  By popular demand, I’ve been digging through the files to find a few more tidbits that didn’t make it into the main body of the article…

bsg vfx: anatomy of a cylon

It’s no secret that I’m the biggest fan of the original Battlestar currently working on the new incarnation; you could almost say I’m the “ambassador” of the 1979 version, always looking for opportunities to include classic Galactica material on the current series. It was maybe two years ago that I was talking to [writer/producer] David Weddle and hypothesized, “you know, if we ever did a flashback to the first Cylon war (maybe something that showed us what Adama was like as a young pilot), it would showcase the original hardware! Remember the miniseries museum scene?” He thought about it for a second and said, “yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

Of course, a flashback like that would be a wet dream for any fan of the original series, but would it ever happen?

your speed racer weekend survival kit

With early reviews confirming what the trailer suggests, Speed Racer  is most likely going to make us all feel like we’re driving way too fast on drugs.  Millions of hyped-up moviegoers are going to leave the theater, eager to recapture the sensation of drug-fuelled autocrossing.  Should any of you decide to actually take drugs and go for a drive, you’ll be pleased to know that Mixmag (the preeminent rave music magazine), once did a study to find out exactly how driving was affected by various chemical influences…

Will the real wachowskis please stand up?

The Wachowski brothers (supposedly pictured above) are infamously reclusive; while their summer Blockbuster Speed Racer is planted firmly on everyone’s radar, these guys have remained MIA.  For their entire careers, they’ve avoided the spotlight by refusing to do interviews or publicity tours and are rarely even photographed.  All this leads me to wonder: are the guys you see in the above picture actually the Wachowski brothers?

sci-ficandy: hi tech trek

Way, way back in the footloose and fancy-free year of 2001, fellow Star Trek visual effects alum Rob Bonchune and I created renderings for a book called “Starship Spotter,” a guidebook to the magnificent flying machines of the Trek universe.  We were both CG Supervisors on Voyager at the time and used the actual computer models from the various Trek series to liven up the book with all sort of tasty imagery.

BSG nerd wins Emmy, cops open fire (almost)

 

It was the evening of September 8, 2007 and I was sitting in a taxi on my way to the Emmys.

Dressed as a Colonial Warrior.

We were already halfway to the Shrine Auditorium and there was only one thing on my mind: we weren’t supposed to win.

For almost a decade now, more and more innovative CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) meant that spaceships, once the bread-and-butter of the visual effects industry, just didn’t win Emmys anymore. Sure, “Exodus – Part II” was exciting, and I had the time of my life facing the Pegasus off against three Baseships, but it just never crossed my mind that it would come to this.

B5 flashback #1: building the central corridor

Welcome to the first Babylon Five flashback!  I served as a visual effects artist and supervisor on the series when it was with Foundation Imaging (we began work on the original pilot in 1992 and continued through the end of season three).  B5 was my “big break” and I will be digging through my archives – and memory – to bring you stories and neat stuff that has been gathering dust since…. well, since The Gathering!  For this first installment, I bring you a few photos from my personal collection.

This was taken in late June of 1992 at Santa Clarita Studios (the series was shot in North Hollywood, but Valencia was the home of the pilot).  Foundation Imaging (the visual effects facility formed to create the computer generated space scenes for the show) was a short walk from the sound stages, so I took the opportunity to document the construction of the central corridor, our biggest set.

iron man-ia continues! Meet Alan Doshna…

Meet Alan Doshna: Actor, writer, producer… Iron Man fan.  At some point in the not too distant past, this native Upstate-New Yorker made his own trailer and sent it to Marvel in an attempt to be cast as the lead in “Iron Man.”  For reasons known only to Stan Lee, Doshna did not get the part, but you can read his interview with himself and get the skinny on his experience at his website.  It looks like we must add Alan Doshna to the list of people who have had all their hopes and dreams shattered by the evil Robert Downey Jr!

movie review: iron man

So today kicked off the 2008 season for the Super Summer Movie Fun Club – Go! This clandestine organization gets together every week during the summer to see the latest and greatest Hollywood has to offer. Generally speaking, summer is when all the big movies we’ve been looking forward to finally come out; you’d think this would result in a couple of joyous, slap-happy months, but it seems like the big movies just get worse and worse and all our excitements ends with us crying in our ice cream afterwards. The good news is we now have a word to describe all of our summer movie emotions rolled into one: Anticippointment. Won’t you join us?

Anyway, Iron Man was released this weekend and the Super Summer Movie Fun Club – Go! was there, hoping for the best but prepared for the worst…

Fuck Harold and Kumar, Mojo goes to white castle

I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as one that ends with a trip to White Castle.  Look what I found in NY, hiding on 38th and 8th!  There used to be one across the street from the Empire State Building but it disappeared years ago, leading many to believe the closest sliders were now in Queens.  Well, fear not, hungry Manhattanite, you no longer have to hop on the F for a trip to heaven!

an open letter to people with webcam pics

You do realize the camera is not actually in your computer screen, right? It’s usually located on top of (or to the side) of your monitor.

I ask this, because we have a plague of internet pictures in which people are never looking at us, but off to the side… and it’s a little impersonal.

I don’t think most of you do this on purpose – I doubt society has collectively made a conscious decision to look aloof or distracted to artistic effect; more likely, people aren’t making the mental leap that even though the picture is in their computer screen, the camera is not.

I know this is a little confusing, but trust me, it’s easy to get the hang of. And you want to.

When I see someone staring off to the side, I think, “hmm, this person is so caught up with looking at themselves on their screen they didn’t even realize they should be looking at the camera.” I mean, the picture you’re taking is for us, right?  So look at us, not at yourself!

So, here is an easy guide to taking a picture of yourself with a webcam:

music review: simian mobile disco

You know what I’m tired of? I’m tired of mentioning techno music and having people automatically assume I’m talking about trance-a-holic, glow-stick wielding zombies, enslaved by the same tired, coma-enducing loops that have been pumped out by auto-pilot artists like Paul Oakenfold and Tiesto since 1997.

Thankfully, the signs are becoming more and more clear that the days of “uplifting” yet sorely castrated dance music are finally coming to a close. Artists such as LCD Soundsystem, The Presets and Hot Chip have been rolling a tank across the over-produced, over-polished, over-layered ad nauseum sounds of prance-trance and giving techno what it’s needed for some time now: balls. 

(Click below for more and an MP3…)

best buy strikes back!

Mere hours after I had written off the boys in blue & yellow based on their featherweight 23rd street store, they throw themselves back into the ring, this time ready to punch your teeth out with the heavyweight known as the Columbus Circle location (62nd & Bway). Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes upon this three-story contender:

I almost wanted to take my shoes off before coming inside!

dark knight…

Don’t have time for a big post tonight, but I wanted to share this awesomely spooky shot I grabbed as the clouds rolled in, no doubt in preparation for tomorrow’s ritualistic “watering of the city,” also known as rain.  When I look at this picture, all I can think of is that this city truly is Batman’s town – the rest of us just live in it.  A shiver runs down my spine; The Dark Knight better be good.

a few random bits from NYC

It rained tonight unexpectedly and this is how I dealt with it.  When I say unexpectedly, I mean the forecast called for rain but when I looked outside this morning (i.e. 1pm), it was nice and sunny so I decided to ignore the advice of the people who went to meteorological school for four years because I didn’t want to carry an umbrella.  Let this picture be a cautionary tale to those who contemplate being equally lazy on a potentially rainy day.  Speaking of weather, it’s going to be a balmy 90 degrees in LA on Saturday but a far more spring-like 72 here in Manhattan.   I don’t know what gods were so angered they made NY weather better than LA’s, but whatever you guys are up to, keep it going!

Pardon my California French, but what the fuck is this?  People come from all over the world to feast upon the nirvana known as New York Pizza.  Why would any New Yorker in their right mind want to turn their stomachs over to the West Coast’s pale imitation?  Attention NY: if you really want to try California pizza, here’s what you do:

• Scrape all the cheese and sauce off two slices of NY heaven and slap them together.  This will approximate the crust thickness of the Angelino slice.
• Dip a paint brush in a bottle of old, moldy Ragu and very gently trace a super thin layer of sauce on top of the slice.  If you can taste it, you’ve used too much.
• Go to the 99 cent store, grab a can of spray cheese and unload the whole thing as the top layer.
• Microwave on high for 90 seconds.
• Let sit under a heat lamp for six hours.
• “Enjoy.”

Seriously, if anyone in NY is even contemplating a slice of California Pizza, Wired put it best when they said: It costs $482.79 to get a decent pizza in San Francisco — $17 for the pie, $85 for cab fare, and $378.80 for the flight to New York.  Read the full story here (thanks to Shane for sending in the link!).

I saw this guy near Times Square last night.  Gotta love the sense of humor of NY’s homeless.  If they ever got together and did standup they’d kill.  And yes, I gave the guy a dollar to take his picture (and some cookies, because Starbuck’s wouldn’t give me change of a $20 unless I bought something).  Fascists.

Went to MOMA today to check out Take your time: Olafur Eliasson, a new exhibition of immersive environments constructed from light and color.  This unretouched photo is just one example of the cool stuff you’ll be able to see if you go between now and June 30 (and you should).  If you have any clue how to use your camera you’ll be able to get some incredible images… here are just a few of the ones I got:

al-qaeda: a target suggestion

Dear Al-Qaeda operatives,

If you’re planning another terrorist attack in New York, please consider this building for your next target:

This is one ugly building

It’s the new hotel on Rivington street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.  It’s absolutely hideous and stands out like a giant, black and blue sore thumb, marring a landscape otherwise unadulterated by oddly shaped, tall buildings.  It destroys the “simple, local neighborhood” feel of the Lower East Side and really needs to go away.  Think of what an easy target it would be!  A pilot with no experience at all could hit this thing with one eye closed.  I hear they have copies of “The Satanic Verses” in every room and some educated women working there.  Go get ’em!

We’ll be here all week folks

Some people accuse NY of being too serious and that it needs to “lighten up.”  To that, your average New Yorker would reply “go fuck yourself,” but I have decided to let these pictures do the talking.  All you have to do is keep your eyes open and NY provides a bounty of comic relief!

I shall indeed (click below for more amusing images)